Sun of Shadows/Chapter 15
This is the fifteenth chapter in Sun of Shadows and the sixth in part two, Ice. A Tooth for a Tooth Geb had trouble staying awake. Again and again he felt his eyes close and he almost slid off Boulder's back. He also knew why: He hadn't been able to sleep the whole night. Not because he couldn't sleep, but to protect his friends. Despite their size, Geb didn't fear the Ice Elmen. They had taken the friends in and had always been nice to them. No, it was Nergal that worried Geb. Despite Ani's presence, Geb felt that the Fire Elm was irritated much easier than he used to be. He was so convinced of fulfilling the prophecy himself... he would eliminate Perry if necessary. He had proved that yesterday. On the other hand, Geb no longer doubted Perry's abilities. His illusion had more than impressed him, but now Geb knew that Perry was good at fighting as well. How quickly he had countered Nergal's attack... but in his sleep, even he was at Nergal's mercy. Geb had stayed awake to wake him in an emergency - but thankfully Nergal had made no move to do anything to him. It had been a quiet night. Nevertheless, he didn't fail to notice how Nergal stared unswervingly upward. Not into the sky, but at the back of Cynosura's companion. To where Perry was sitting. It was hard to say if Nergal was actually planning something - but it was definitely likely. At least he could be back with Boulder. They had only let him to his companion this morning, the night and the hours before, the rhino had remained among Ice Elmen. Of course, his injuries from the big feline were far from healed, but they were well on their way. The healers had done a great job, so Boulder could carry Geb as usual, albeit a bit slower. The others - Karzelek, Four-Leaf, and Sedna - traveled with Cynosura, Perry had eventually joined Iris and Five in the air. It was time he appreciated his wings. "How is he?" Geb startled. He hadn't realized that Ani was riding beside him now. Despite the leafless wasteland around her, the girl looked as warmhearted as ever. Of course she was talking about Boulder. "Better," he beamed back. "Hard to believe that with the right magic even snow can be used as a cure." "Right? When I saw it for the first time, I didn't think it was much more than white earth. But it's so full of magic that it's more like our plants." Her smile became a bit wistful. "That makes it easier for me not to miss the rainforest too much." "You didn't have snow back there, right?" She shook her head. "What about you?" "There's snow on the mountains nearby sometimes," he recalled. "It only snowed once in the middle of Sunstone, when I was very small. But it's never been this much." "Would have surprised me," she smirked. Silently, they rode next to each other. Ani's companion hardly seemed to be bothered by the snow, even though he was used to a completely different world. Maybe the magic had some influence on him. At some point, Cynosura decided it was time to take a break. In the strange eternal darkness on the ice, it felt almost like a night's camp to Geb, at no more than noon. The Ice Elmin used her magic to form a kind of round bench out of the snow so that everyone could sit on it. Only she sat down on the ground, probably to make up for the difference in size. Nergal was the only one who remained seated on his companion. "So what are you waiting for?", he asked. "Are we going hunting or not?" Ani was uncomfortable with the idea of meat and Sedna grimaced as well. Both much preferred vegetarian food, but unfortunately there were no plants on this continent. Geb came up with an idea. "Couldn't we eat the snow? Like the, uh..." "The NiKrikik." Cynosura understood what he meant. "Yes," she said simply. Astonished, Iris and Five looked at Cynosura, then at Geb. "We're supposed to eat snow?" Five sounded rather disgusted. "Alignak told us a lot of animals do that," Geb said. "It's worth a try, right?" Sedna also eyed the white mass critically. "Do you remember Acquois? I was the only one who could eat his algae. Maybe it's similar here." Her last words were difficult to understand because Four-Leaf's bleating drowned them out. The goat had its head stuck in the middle of the snow, which was now flung out of its mouth when looking up. But Four-Leaf was chewing contentedly. Karzelek didn't hesitate any longer. He, too, took a handful of snow and stuck it in his mouth. "And?", Iris asked expectantly. Quickly, Karzelek swallowed the snow and shuddered briefly. It was obviously still cold. "It doesn't really taste... like anything," he said indifferently. "A bit like the lickstones that we have in our tribe. Nothing that'll harm us, I think." That was proof enough for Geb. Without paying attention to the cold, he grabbed some snow himself. That's just water, he told himself. Water... and magic. Carefully he took a little in his mouth. His friend was right, the snow tasted like nothing. At the same time he felt a satisfying feeling - as if the snow could feed him at least temporarily. The others began to try their new food, only Nergal did nothing like that. He looked at the spectacle with a devalued expression before he turned away, scoffing. "I'm going hunting," he announced. "You're not getting me to eat white dirt." "Hey, wait for me!" Five jumped up and immediately climbed onto Buzzer's back. Not only did this confuse Nergal - the others, too, looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing?", Iris asked. Five stuck out her tongue. "Someone has to make sure he isn't eaten by invisible beasts. There's a lot of those here, I've heard." Nergal looked as if he wanted to reply something, but refrained from any comment and rode off. Five winked at the friends one last time, then followed him. It was amazing how much more relaxed the mood was without Nergal's bitterness. Soon they were all involved in informal conversations in which even Cynosura took part when they didn't go too fast. Geb and soon the others did their best to tell the girl about their journey so far, and when she heard Perry's name, she was particularly beaming. "Sura," she said. "Sura is enough." Iris grinned. She had always liked nicknames. "What's it like being a chief?", Karzelek asked. "Must be exhausting, right?" Sura sighed. "Many decisions. But much help too." "That's good." Sedna seemed to sympathize with Sura. No wonder, she herself had had a hard past. "No chief should be as young as you." "Why are you the chief anyway?", Geb asked. "Wasn't there anyone else?" "Ipabog chose me," Sura explained, now she sounded almost proud. "When he died." "When Gerra killed him?" Iris tilted her head. "Or before - just in case?" Sura looked down at her in confusion. At first, Geb thought she simply hadn't understood the question, but then she said, "No murder. Illness." The friends exchanged an astonished look. "That's not what they told us," Sedna muttered. Could it be that Sura was lying to them? But why would she do that? "Gerra is good," the Ice Elmin continued, convinced. She didn't get any further because Iris's arm shot forward. "Nergal's coming back!" "Let's hear what he has to say," Karzelek said. They waited tensely for the Fire Elm to reach them. Five landed first and noticed that there was something going on, but she waited curiously and didn't ask. When Nergal and Spitfire arrived, no one said a word either. Geb saw that they had killed a rabbit, and Nergal, without any greetings, set to relieving its of its white coat. The sight was hard to bear for Geb. Disturbed, he looked closely at Nergal's face instead and asked, "What really happened back then?" "I don't know what you're talking about." But Nergal's look said something else. It went in Sura's direction, not to Geb. "Gerra," Sedna said dryly, and this time Nergal grimaced. Yes, he knew exactly what they meant. "I don't think that's any of your business." "So you lied," Iris replied. "Gerra didn't kill the Ice Chief." "Shut up." Judging by the sounds, Nergal was dismembering the hare more than was good for the poor creature. Luckily, Geb didn't look there. But he saw Ani putting a hand on Nergal's shoulder. Asking him with her big forest green eyes to calm down, to maybe even tell the truth. Nergal paused, hesitated... and sighed. "Fine, you're right," he mumbled. "My father didn't touch the guy. The Ice Elm was sick and stupid enough to want to get rid of Gerra anyway, even without there being a war yet. But my father took pity on him and just brought him back to his tribe. And then he died there, apparently." "And the... skull?" Geb shuddered at Karzelek's words. Gerra's peculiar headwear disturbed them all. Nergal scoffed, again paired with the terrible sound of tearing flesh. "He got that thing from some other guy who had the smart idea to attack him. Who needs a tooth when you can have a skull?" Geb's head was spinning. On the one hand, he was glad, so very glad that Gerra hadn't killed another chief. But what happened instead was a terrible lie and something a chief should never do. He deceived his entire tribe to prove strength he didn't have... "Wait a minute," Sedna interrupted his thoughts. "How do you know all that? I can't imagine Gerra told even a single person." A new light illuminated Nergal's grim face from below, making him seem particularly bitter. A fire he used to prepare whatever was left of the hare. "He told me," he said. "But that shit's none of your business." The cuss came so unexpectedly that the friends looked at each other in surprise. "That bad?", Sedna asked, sounding genuinely compassionate - unlike Iris, who leaned forward eagerly. "Don't just stop in the middle," she protested. "I want to know how it ends." "You know what happened," Nergal snapped. "This stupid war is still going on and the tribe - the northern clans anyway - adore my father like a damned Light Elm. Because so much went wrong and he wears that stupid tooth around his neck. That stupid, Keeper-damned..." He trailed off as he realized everyone was staring at him. Not because the rabbit was now hopelessly charred and the fire was just flickering on its remaining body. No, it was because Nergal's face reflected the flames so unreally, where his eyes had become wet. "What is it?", he barked at them, making not just Geb wince. "There's nothing to see here. Go bother someone else!" "You... you don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Geb said nervously. He couldn't help but expect an attack from Nergal. It seemed, however, as if Nergal didn't even think of it; he was too busy with his thoughts, his memory of who knew what. "But maybe it'll make you feel a little better," Five added without wanting to tease him. "That always helped my little brothers." Nergal glared at her. "I'm not your little brother." But instead of insulting or attacking her, he just sat there and stared down at the remains of his hunted meal. "You don't know anything." Silence. Even Iris understood that it wasn't right to provoke Nergal in such a state of mind. In fact, she seemed lost in thought herself, as thoughtful as she looked at the tooth chains Nergal had earned over the years. Then her eyes widened, she looked up at Nergal - and gasped. "That tooth," she said. "The second tooth of Gerra. That's yours." Not only Geb was a bit at a loss, but also Five and a few others looked at Iris confused. Nergal groaned, his eyes still fixed on the meat he was picking at now. "You're right," he said bleakly. "The Ice Elm's skull is the smallest problem." Now Geb remembered: in contrast to most of the other Fire Elmen they had encountered, Gerra had had only a ridiculously small number of won teeth; the sign to have defeated an opponent in combat. But that meant... "You fought against Gerra?" Nergal gave up his resistance, perhaps he had realized that there was no use keeping things a secret anymore. "I was twelve then. Almost thirteen. Just about to receive my magic - maybe you know that Fuocith's traveling around. That's why it took her so long to reach us." He laughed dryly. "My father came back just days before. Boasted about his skull, his victory. The clan worshiped him - me too. I was so proud to be his son. "He started making plans for a real war to unify the Fire Clans. Many people, myself included, thought that was a pointless goal, but the prospect of fighting inspired us all. My mother was immediately at the front as a general, while Gerra - and even then, I already hated him for that - would stay at Mount Ember. I didn't want to sit idly and instead accompany my mother as soon as I got my magic... but you know what Gerra said about that?" "What?" Iris asked, bent forward. At this point, everyone was listening to Nergal's story, even Perry looked thoughtfully in his direction. "'No, you stay here with me,'" Nergal imitated his father's slightly deeper voice almost perfectly. "'Even if I become a warrior?', I protested. And his answer? 'Especially then.'" By now, Nergal even held his own hand into the fire, which seemed to bother neither him nor his hand. He could just as well have held it into water. "I was furious with him when I went to Fuocith. And even more when I came back." "Because she made you a warrior?", Five suggested. But she got a glare from - who'd have thought - Karzelek. Not even he liked the interruption. Nergal just nodded. "That too. But more important was her message I should deliver to Gerra. She never wanted to see him again after the Ice Tribe deal. Can you imagine? Never before has a Keeper rejected a chief!" It only took one moment, then he continued. "I knew that Fuocith didn't care about the war. No, I was sure her reason was his cowardly flight back to Mount Ember." Geb nodded thoughtfully. Nergal had mentioned that weeks ago. "Of course, I went right back to my father and told him everything, from my vocation to Fuocith's words. Then I challenged him for his position." Not only Geb's breath caught. "You wanted to become chief?", Karzelek asked. "But..." "Sure, I would have had to kill him for that. But do you think I cared about that then? I just wanted the clan - the whole tribe - to get a chief who respects our values. Someone who fights by his tribe's side and doesn't hide after the first victory. Someone who sees things through to the very end." He closed his eyes. "Someone like me." "But you lost," Sedna concluded, she also seemed mentally distracted somehow. "Of course you did." "Not as fast as you might think." Nergal glanced over at her for a moment. "Gerra was never a fighter, he never owned a single tooth. He just became chief after Agrona because Sunshield - my father's companion - just so happened to sit down on her." His tone made it clear: that hadn't been a coincidence. Geb noticed how he himself became angry: how dishonorable could Gerra be? Nergal went on talking and became more and more bitter with every word. "I could have beat him, we both knew that. Spitfire and me, we expected Sunshield. We were much faster than that fat thing. And better at using fire anyway. We could have killed Gerra, we almost did... and then he told me about the Ice Tribe. "That threw me off track, of course it did. The whole tribe would have reacted like me. And Gerra used that chance. I had pushed him to the ground, but suddenly it was me in the volcanic dust. Seconds from dying." He had become quieter and quieter... and suddenly he raised his voice to a scream as tears welled in his eyes again. "But he didn't do it! The damned coward didn't have the heart to kill me. He disregarded the tribe's rules again, just because I'm his son. He was supposed to kill me, do you understand? No matter who I am. "He took Spitfire's tooth anyway. And secretly stabbed some drunken idiot that night and claimed he had challenged him. Not me. So no one would realize what a pathetic hypocrite he is." Again, Geb didn't know what to think of Gerra's actions. He could well understand why he hadn't been able to kill Nergal... but instead of admitting it, Gerra had only gotten himself into even more lies. Terrible lies whose revelation would probably be the biggest scandal in the tribe's history. "I'd be happy to be alive if I were you," Iris said. Sedna grimaced. "Living on is sometimes worse than death." Nergal nodded grimly. "I would rather have been dead that night, but my father didn't grant me that. Instead, he stayed by my side for five long years to remind me of his victory day after day. To keep me from ever forgetting that it'd only take a tiny trigger to actually kill me. "I thought for a long time that his words were no more than empty threats. But the last months changed everything. My Half-Shadow state gives him just the reason he needs. He could kill me and, even better, be celebrated by everyone, because who ever has the chance to kill a Shadow? But I won't give him that satisfaction. He won't use me to continue his ridiculous game. I've been training for a long time to become a much better fighter than him. To finally beat him. But first I'll defeat Umbrath - and prove once and for all that his son is so much more than just his dumb plaything!" Out of sheer anger, he accidentally extinguished the fire he had previously lit. For a moment it was dark around the group that had listened to Nergal so intently, but Five reacted with lightning speed. She let her markings flicker and shortly thereafter Karzelek contributed the light of his glowing stone. Finally, Sedna took part in this light offering that caused genuine surprise in Nergal's face. Not only did this shared light have a mystical, almost soothing effect: perhaps for the first time ever, the others were smiling at Nergal. Geb wasn't the only one his story had moved. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed another light. It was Perry whose entire body shone as softly as a fallen star. "That's why my magic didn't work," he said matter-of-factly. "Your father may want to abuse your dark side, but at the same time - or maybe because of that - you're proud of it. Because it makes the act you want to accomplish even more meaningful." Instead of attacking him, Nergal remained silent for a long time. "Maybe," he finally said. "Whatever it is, it won't stop me from following my destiny." "If it is," Sedna objected, but she didn't sound provocative either. Maybe Nergal's story had really helped. "We don't yet know which of us is destined to fulfill the prophecy." "I hope it's us. Just for your sake." Geb was surprised by his own words. But he realized that he supported Nergal's plans. What Gerra had done was far from honorable. Karzelek also smiled. "Even if it isn't us and Perry is the one defeating Umbrath... even then we'll help you with your father." He looked around. "Right?" "Definitely." Geb nodded immediately and the others also expressed their agreement. Iris took a while, but then nodded too. "His stupid war has messed up a lot," she said. "Someone has to tell him what he did." There was genuine gratitude in Nergal's face, but he remained silent, probably too overwhelmed by everyone's approval. Ani looked gratefully to Geb, surely Nergal had already told her everything long ago. That was why she had insisted on not holding him accountable. And even if Nergal still had to apologize for his tantrums... today they had all understood him a little better. Category:Chapters Category:EE3 Chapters